HP Smart Office Scales to SMBs

By Brian Fonseca |
Posted 2005-10-10

Hewlett-Packard Co. is rolling out a set of downsized storage offerings to help small and midsize businesses better back up and protect data as well as more easily run a scalable storage area network environment.

HP will also announce a new suite of tools in conjunction with Cisco Systems Inc. designed to help U.S.-based SMBs determine their networking needs, said officials of HP in Palo Alto, Calif.

Currently available for $779, which includes a base price and one year of support and updates, Data Protector Express supports Windows, NetWare and Linux environments. The application features parallel recovery capabilities and a simplified user interface that works across all three operating systems.

StorageWorks 1510i MSA is based on an Ethernet infrastructure, allowing SMBs to use the technology without significant training normally associated with moving to a SAN. The box allows customers to take internal disks on HP Smart Array Controllers from their existing HP ProLiant servers and shift them onto StorageWorks 1510i MSA. The product, which supports both SATA (Serial ATA) and SCSI drives, is available now and is priced at $7,995.

Henry Chace, CIO of Boston-based Burns & Levinson LLP, said his law firm is under enormous pressure to unearth budget-friendly storage offerings to solve mushrooming business continuity concerns.

"Whatever money I spend [on IT] comes directly out of [the firms] pockets. I can make [executives] understand I need a backup and recovery solution, but I could never invest in something that bigger companies and enterprises could because I dont have the major resources," said Chace. "You cant run an effective business if youre not technologically knowledgeable."

HPs SMB-focused partnership with Cisco has resulted in the Solutions Designer tool, which provides SMBs with menu-generated questions and ends with a recommended network design featuring a customized network reference diagram, said HP officials. The two companies are enabling HP Smart Chat, an online single point of contact for presales support for channel partners and U.S. customers.

Also, HP, Microsoft Corp. and GE Healthcare this month expect to unveil a new Electronic Medical Record offering in the United States to meet compliance demands.

Editors Note: This story was updated to include a revised introduction schedule for the forthcoming Electronic Medical Record offering. After press time, the company said the announcement is due later this month or in November.

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